Busy or Lazy?

It has been a long time since i last updated my blog. Gosh, was i really that busy or was i just lazy? Haha, i guess it is a bit of both. Working here @ the Grand Canyon is fun but the nature of my job is pretty stressful.

Being a server, or a waiter, is not easy. When i have 6 tables to handle, i have to plan my time well and make sure that each table gets the necessary attention. When the customers first arrive, i have to make sure they get water and perhaps something to drink. In a few minutes time, i have to take their order and send the order to the kitchen. Then, i have to look out for my food which might be out in a few minutes or 10 -20 minutes depending on the crowd and the cooks. Once the food is ready, i have to bring them out and serve it. Upon seeing the customers finishing the food, i have to go forward to ask them if they want dessert; if they don't i will have to bring out the bill.

Sounds easy huh? It is not as easy when the tables of customers are multiplied by 6 or more. And some times, some of these customers are really hungry and they want their food fast. Or there might be parents with nosiy kids who just want to eat and get out of the place. And not to mention some people who has high standards; they are those that will reject the food that is served to them.

A lot of people says a server earns good money. I agree totally but at what cost? Everyday i have to "entertain" so many people that i became emotionally drained each and every night. And, not to mention that there are sideworks that we have to do - they can be so tedious and dirty. Hence, i would say i earn my money with my sweat and blood. I just don't understand why some people think being a server is easy. Maybe a server @ AZ is easy, maybe a server @ ET is easy but a server @ BA is rather shitty.

SNOW @ Grand Canyon

I can't believe this but it is actually snowing @ Grand Canyon !!!!!!!! Snowing !!! Snow !!!!! I haven't never seen snow before and Singapore will never snow unless something goes really really wrong.

According to the people here, this is pretty abnormal too as it is suppose to be spring transiting to summer. Strange weather but the snow is really nice and cold. Very very cold...

We have settled ourself into our dorms and we successfully converted the room which was rather dirty initially into a cosy one. Real cosy man!! No doubt that it is far away from everybody else, the surrounding is pretty serene and peaceful.

Just a few more days and we will be able to move to the cabins which is at a better location - nearer to the Employee Cafe and our working places. And i heard it was suppose to be bigger than the room that we have now.

In short, things have been good and i like it this way!!!

Grand Canyon Rocks !!!!

Counting Down = 7 days !!

In a week's time, i will be on flight China Airline to Taipei at this time of the day. Exciting wor ~ Come to think of it, it has been almost 10 months since we had the idea to do this trip. What a long way we have come to make it to this point. haha...

Seriously, flying China Airline is not exactly my first choice - 12 accidents in 30 years are too much for an airline to be "proud" of. Haiz... what to do? I can only now pray that everything will turn out fine.

So i have been googling around for more info on China Airline. I do get searches on the accidents but... BUT.. i also managed to find sites that led me to the food they serve and the Chi-Ling advertisement...

First of all, go to China Airline Food if you want to find out more about the food that is being served by China Airline. Remarks and photos are uploaded by travellers so I guess the remarks should be pretty frank!


Photo taken by: Ashley H.
Route: NRT-TPE (Tokyo, Japan - Taipei, Taiwan)
date: 06 February 2005
Ticket price: N/A
Flight duration: 3hr
Aircraft type & class: N/A, economy
Business or leisure trip: leisure
Meal type: lunch
Contents of the meal: chicken
Drink: OJ
Comments: The flight was delayed due to the heavy fog
in Taipei, so we had to stay over night in Tokyo.
China Airlines offers meal tickets for dinner, and for
breakfast the next morning. They also provided snacks
(sandwich, juice, and etc) and announced the flight
was canceled. The service was great though.
Rating 1-10 (worst-best): 8
Camera brand & type: Canon PowerShot S45



Photo taken by: Roger
Route: TPE - HKG, 6 May 2006
Ticket price: HKD888
Flight duration: 1h 20m
Class: economy
Aircraft: 747-400
Meal: Lunch - Minced Pork Noodle,
Almond Pudding
Drink: Orange Juice, Coffee
Comments: not enough for lunch, but it's ok because it's a short flight.
Rating 1-10 (worst-best): 7

Not too bad isn't it??

Then, there is the advertisement featuring Lin Chi-Ling!!

FYP Presentation on 5th May 2008

To be honest, i was very nervous about the FYP presentation. It was rather unusual as presentations have never been a problem for me. I really do not know why but i guess it must have something to do with my report.

It was not exactly the best report i have done and for certain parts, there were plenty of loopholes which were problematic. Hence, i guessed i was worried about the questions that my moderator might asked.

I was in school and feeling nervous and luckily i met lots of people in school who encouraged me!! And surprisingly, Weimin didn't do his presentation in the morning; his was shifted to Tuesday afternoon instead. Since his project supervisor is my moderator, he was told to sit in during my presentation.

That was a good move for me since his presence made felt slightly better. A friendly face in the audience was really i needed. Not that there were a lot of people, only 3 - my supervisor, moderator and WM. And my moderator was really kind, the questions he posed was not too challenging and I think i answered alright.

Actually i arrived at the presentation venue much earlier, i was hoping to listen to the presentation before me. Their supervisor is the same as mine hence i was hoping to find out what comments he might give. To my surprise, the moment i entered the room, my supervisor was reprimanding them - for not being serious, for doing the wrong things and stuffs...

That gave me a fright! What if... what if... what if... what if he scold me as well? haha... that was a scary sudden thought...

But it turned out pretty good. I remembered my lines and it went on pretty smooth. Good for me!

In the midst of the presentation, my mobile phone rang. Somebody was calling me and i took a quick look at it - it was my fyp partner. She called me at least 3 times but since i was presenting i didn't pick up her calls. Then i saw message and she realized she couldn't come for the presentation as she had fell sick... again. Luckily i never wanted to do the presentation together with her. Imagine she fell sick and left me alone to present without her parts... that will be a disaster...

In all, it was a very good experience and it sure marks the end of my NTU journey. Would i miss NTU? I think i would... i would miss Nanyang Lake, Hall4, Hall15, Canteen A (which has stepped into history), Subway (that i only managed to eat there a few times), Sakae Sushi (hope to eat there tomorrow), the lecture halls especially LT7 and the tutorial rooms...

Final Mug

Woo hoo... for the final mug, other than the good old NIE library, we also went down to Bugis library where there is a Study Lounge.





The Study Lounge is located on the fifth level and there are limited seats. Hence, everyday there is a lot of "kiasu" people who will queued long before it opens @ 9am. And yes, we were part of this group of "kiasu" people; I don't really like to do this but then we have no choice if we want to get a table. So boh bian loh...



The Study Lounge is bright and nice, it is a good enough place for me to mug. Plus, it is centrally located which is good for all. Not to mention that the view outside is superb.



There are plenty of rules to follow and the most important one is that no reservation is allowed. NLB even deployed their security guards to patrol the lounge to ensure nobody reserves for other people. I guess the situation must have gotten very bad last time for NLB to do so.

Counting down...

YEAH!! Exam is over!!! And hopefully i will be able to clear all the modules for this semester; i am definitely not willing to return to do another semester. I want to GRADUATE!! Haha...

Anyway, i am still mugging busily. I am mugging on Grand Canyon and Taiwan !!! I am so looking forward to the trip. Gosh... and I talked to Peng Xin the other night and he went to GC in 2006. He shared many tips wor... very very helpful!!

At least, my doubts about the hostels are cleared. Expectations lowered and it is indeed possible for the 4 of us to stay together!!


So this is the chalet-type of dorm. Looks alright to me, and these types of dorms can accomodate up to 4 person. Hopefully we will be able to get one of these rooms.


Not exactly the best photo to display but hey, it looks cozy enough!!


Well, kind of squeezy here...


Some first hands shots of the canyon.


Very nicccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....


And Peng Xin with friends.

Stress is building up...

With 3 more weeks to exam, stress is indeed building up. What really bothers me are 3 things - FYP, final exam and WATUSA.

With more and more people around me finishing their FYP, i am really stressed that i have not. My tutor has not got back to me with regards to my first draft. Seriously, i don't think i have done a good job for it, so i am worried about that.

Then, the exams are coming; although there are only 3 papers, it felt like there is 30 papers. Probably it is because this will be the final one.

Last but least, WATUSA is kind of stressful also. Especially the part that concern the $$. The whole thing sounds expensive and it is really expensive. And it doesn't helps that Speedwing and Gasi Travel's staffs have ridiculous attitude problem. One thing for sure, i am never going to buy any travel package from Gasi Travel. Never.

Entering the Era of Cat Y !!

Yes, that is right, in a few hours time, i will be Category X no more. Ever since i entered army, i was sorted to cat X because of my age. With almost 6 years being a cat X person, i don't really want to change it.

I was at Khatib FCC for my IPPT just now and i felt like i was home once again. This happened last saturday also when i was back at Bedok FCC for the same reason. But it rained so heavily that the test was canceled and the test was voided and considered failed. First time i fail my IPPT wor... quite a big impact...

Well, the weather was better just now and i could say there isn't a lot of changes in KFCC or rather Khatib camp. It was still the same when i ORD and some of the old buildings were still around. But then, i was still 19 sec short to hit below 9:44 min. No $400 but i guess i should be happy with $200. For all the stations other than SBJ i got 5points - SBJ i got 4points. Just that my 2.4km timing was 10:03 min. What a waste... it is almost $10 for each sec that i have took more...

Haiz... never mind, i am entering the era of cat Y very very soon. Haha... by then, the 2.4km timing to hit will be 10 min for the $400. Wa ha hah a ha....

Just before i left, i met MWO Vincent. It was definitely great to see him, especially after so long. He still smokes but i find him more approachable; i don't know why but i actually had a good talk with him. Talking about the past and finding out what some of the other regulars are doing.

Thank you YES933!!

The movie's poster.

Thank you YES933 for giving me the chance to go the studio to meet Kelly Chen who was in town to promote her new movie, <<江山美人>>!! And a very big thank you to the DJ, WeiBin who gave me the chance to interview Kelly!! I still remembered what WeiBin said to me before Kelly arrives, "要保握机会啊!!" And that was what i did, "保握机会"!!


Me and WeiBin.

As the others were too shy to ask, i went ahead and secured the chance. It has been a long time since i hosted events, and suddenly i almost felt like i am going to host one. Even though WeiBin asked me to prepare one question, i was already squeezing my brain juices to come up with a appropriate one. You know lah, celebrities are sensitive to the questions people asked them. If something that he or she don't like was asked, he or she might show you a black face.


YES933's studio.

So, i settled with a very very very safe question: "What are your plans after this movie? New albums? So with that, i was pretty comfortable. At this moment, Kelly arrived and gosh, my impression was that, she is really tall. I heard from Kev she was 1.73m and with that high heels that she worn, i bet she was taller than me. No fair!!! So she came in, and there were a lot of people who followed her. I can see that included her manager, assistant A, assistant B... and they were speaking in cantonese... so cool!! She was friendly; she waved and smiled at the 6 of us.

The interview was carried out shortly after WeiBin briefed her. And it was really cool to see how a DJ operates the machines, the computers and stuffs. Normally, we could only their voices but yesterday, i could see how they work!! And WeiBin was adjusting here and there as she interviewed Kelly. WeiBin can really multi-task !! As the first segment of the interview finished, WeiBin played "Lovers' Concerto" and I moved forward to take a seat besides Kelly.



Yes, Besides her !!! It was definitely exciting for me at that moment, i was so star struck. And yes, she still looks good for her age, and she really has very big eyes and sharp nose. Then, WeiBin raised her hand to signal that we are going on air soon. As the song ended and WeiBin started to speak again. WeiBin asked Kelly a few more questions and one particular one shocked me. WeiBin asked Kelly what were her plans after the movie!!!!!

Gosh and that was the question i had prepared, i gave WeiBin a shocked face and I turned and looked at Kelly. I think she was shock to see me shock. Kind of hilarious actually. WeiBin then gave me a signal to tell me to relax and i was like, "are you sure or not..." In the end i still asked the same question but i added slightly more, " do you plans to open a concert in Singapore?" I guess this addition makes my question slightly different from WeiBin's. Cold sweat wor...

And that was not the end, i got to talk about the movie and theme song as well. So, it was like a chit chat session with Kelly and WeiBin. And that was fun!!!! As the interview ended, Kelly was brought to another room. The 6 of us were wondering if we could take photos with Kelly as the people who came with her wasn't very friendly. Or maybe they were just tired, i don't know... But in the mean time, i got to talk to WeiBin and she was really really very friendly and nice. She even suggested to us to wait outside so that we can "catch" Kelly when she leaves. And that what we did.

One funny thing happened next. I asked Kelly if we could take a group photo with her, she looked like it is ok but at this moment, there were 2 voices. Her manager said YES, but one of her assistant said NO. Kind of funny because the answers came at the same time. Well, the manager has more powerful and so we managed to have a picture with Kelly.


Me and Kev, the 2 excited fans.

Overall, it was a great experience as it was my first time going to YES933's studio. And of course, it was 1st time meeting Kelly Chen. Marvelous experience !!!

It's GOOD FRIDAY!!

The sun is out and the weather looks good. But i think i will just stay at home and rejuvenate from a week of work. I have borrowed a few good books from the library and i guess i can spend my day happily reading them.

By the way, i would like to introduce to all a new search engine - REDNANO. It is started by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and will focus all the searches for Singapore. I think it is a good alternative to other search engines, especially like Google. With majority of internet searches done via Google, they have more or less control over the information. They can show us what they want and seriously, this isn't the best thing - we could have been "brainwashed" without knowing it.


But then, it is such a fast and easy search engine that i have personally grown to get use to. Probably i will try out Rednano for a while and see how it goes.

Met & Interviewed Kelly Chen on YES933 LIVE.. wOo HoO x 3!!!

Yes, I met Kelly Chen yesterday evening @ YES933's studio. It was a very cool experience; first time into YES933's studio, first time meeting Kelly Chen !!!

Stepping into the studio was like a dream came true... the place where all the familiar voices came from, I felt like i am home or something. Haha... ok lah, i better go to bed before my headache become worse. Will take about this experience very soon...

Here's the Advertisement of the year - 2007:

You have successfully booked a test session at BEDOK FCC test center

Long time no blog ~ ~ gosh, FYP is indeed a killer. I am busy with it, everybody is busy with it... some pimples popped out on my face... and that is a good indicator that i am stressed. And to add oil to fire, i am also down with a cold, or is it flu... 傻傻分不清楚... in short, i am having a running nose, slight cough and headache now and then...

Then, the WAT USA paperwork is really troublesome. SW, as usual, sent emails late at night and they were filled with many things to do... form A, B, C... and we have to go down to their office to submit them... and next week we have to go to the US Embassy for the visa application.

I still have to take my IPPT before my birthday and that will be this saturday. so many things to do, so little time.

What's wrong with Singapore?

Mas Selamat Kastari, a Jemaah Islamiyah leader, escaped from the Whitley Detention Centre on Wednesday. And this was only made known to the public 4 hours later. Ok, during this period, the police officers, Special Operations Command officers and gurkhas were deployed, so it isn't really a big issue. But, this is Singapore, how could this happened here? Why?

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng who apologised for the incident said Mas Selamat was being taken to the toilet before a meeting at the Family Visit Room when he escaped.

And Mr Wong was humorous - how could a terrorist who has plans to attack foreign and local establishment be "no imminent danger to the public"? And how much is he paid annually?

The Singapore Airshow wasn't exactly that fantastic - too many people too little things.

There was also a huge screw up for the ticketing of The F1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix.

Gosh, isn't this city suppose to be efficient?

I wonder what Lee senior will have to say about all these...

Goodbyee 肥肥 Lydia Sum

沈殿霞 has passed away today. Growing up watching her programs and movies... i will definitely miss her...

Have U voted?

Here's a chance to put Singapore on the special edition version of Monopoly: Here and Now !!



There is 24 days to the end of voting, so if you want to see Singapore on this special edition, VOTE NOW !!!!

Surf N Sweat 2008

Team photo

The most anticipated event organized by NTU Sports Club was held last Sunday. Myself, Xy, Wil, Engel and Sam signed up for the Beach Volleyball competition. But we didn't play in the end, coz we were very very late. The main reason for this was because we were not confident of ourselves.

Only myself is proficient of the rules and can play reasonably. The rest have almost never touch a volleyball. Haha... funny hor... then why did we sign up for it? Come to think of it, i'm not very sure too. Maybe, in the initial team formation, we've got good players but then, they "fly aeroplane", so we continued to look for replacements.

But then, i would say it was still a great outing. When would you see Tanjong Beach so spiced up? It was fun and it definitely felt like an event in other countries. I enjoyed myself although we didn't do much. If only we hang around longer, but then, the weather didn't look good. So, we actually made the right choice to "evacuate"!!

More photos @ Facebook


One more group photo.

Cathay ups ticket prices

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/325778/1/.html

Gosh, watching movies is going to cost a lot more...

Think we have to order more "original" dvd from our neighbouring country.

I am going to Grand Canyon wor ~ ~ ~

Last Saturday, i went to Orchard Hotel for the Work & Travel USA interview. The company who put together the program, Stupidwing, was very nice to start the registration at 7.30am and that means i have to wake up at 6.15am to get ready. In the end, i woke up at 5.30am. How nice of them...

Maybe they got some reasons but still, getting everybody to go down so early doesn't reflects well on the company. Tsk tsk, but well then, I guess my gang and myself are used to it already. That's why we called it "Stupidwing"!!

Lousy customer service, lousy management, lousy planning... we would have opted out if not for the $50 that we have paid to them. Why should we have to bear all these nonsense from such a company? Yes, if not for the $50.

But still, i was astonished when i saw Meg, assistant HR Manager from Xanterra PArks & Resorts; all the way from USA to interview the many hopeful students including us. She looks cool and she is cool. Wooo... All the nonsenses from Stupidwing seems to disappear for a while.

We were then directed to another room to wait for our turns to be interviewed. We waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited... It was at least 100 minutes before we were told that it is our turn. Gosh... tsk tsk...

The interview was simple as Meg chatted with each and one of us at the table; it was a group interview with 8 people in one go. MAybe that was the reason for the long time it took to finish interviewing one group but i beileved there is definitely room to be improved.

The interview was smooth and i got the position of Snack Bar Attendant, so did Kev. Xiang Yan and Siti got the post of Guest Room Attendant, which is more commonly known as chambermaids... haha... both positions sounded pretty unglam hor ~

We are indeed going to USA to be cheap labour, just like some other people from some other countries who came to Singapore to be cheap labour as well. But i would say it is definitely going to be an extraordinary experience for myself and everybody else.

At least, i can see that there is going to be many of us going to work in Grand Canyon, at least 35 of us. Cool isn't it? haa ha..

But last night, Xiang Yan told me Siti's parent changed their mind and decided that Siti is not allowed to go to USA. Gosh, this is a sticky situation. Hopefully it can be settled when we go down to the company tomorrow.

White card not needed to enter Malaysia

Yeah, I have signed up for the Monopoly Challenge. Students from NTU can join as well and gosh, it is going to start in another 6 hours time. The prize is not really attractive leh, but I guess it is the process of playing the game that should be more important.

Anyway, i heard from 933 that visitors to Malaysia no longer need to fill in the white card. I was actually happy to hear it as it has always been a hassle to fill it in; there are times when we requested more of these cards so that we can keep them at home and filled it before going to the checkpoint.

So, with that piece of information in mind, I anticipated the trip to JB yesterday. And indeed, the white cards were not required and it took less than 10 seconds to clear the Malaysian checkpoint. Very very smooth. They should indeed make this policy a permanent one.

Monopoly Challenge

Saw the poster at NIE. Cool hor, Monopoly Challenge.

I wonder if NTU students can participate or not...

Anticipating...

Taiwan's opposition KMT claims landslide victory in parliamentary polls

Read the full story here.

Seems like the Taiwanese are really disappointed with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Otherwise, opposition Kuomintang (KMT) would not be able to secure 86 seats in the 113-seat legislature.

I watched this election with high anticipation as I foreseed that such things will never happen in Singapore. We have a different culture and most importantly, we are only a tiny red dot. We can't afford political unrest; investors will run away. Hence, when democracy was to VS economic investments, $$ is more essential. We have no natural resources and we have to take each steps carefully.

I envy the political freedom in Taiwan but i know in my heart, this will never happen in Singapore. At least not in my lifetime.

NTU BLOOD CHALLENGE!!

The Red Cross is organizing the once a year NTU BLOOD CHALLENGE!! This year’s blood donation is not only held to break the previous records of the number of packets of blood that the whole NTU has contributed but more importantly to raise the awareness of blood donation and hence alert more people to the need and urgency of blood donation! This year’s blood donation will be a unique one as the Red Cross NTU Chapter will work with the bloodbank and of course, all the donors out there to accomplish three VERY important missions!!

1) SAVE LIVES!!!
2) Donate blood
3) Encourage your friends and colleagues to donate blood as well!

Why donate blood?

Donating blood is one of the kindest acts, and it requires only a small part from you. Many people need blood, and for every packet of blood that you donate, you can save three lives. Please lend a helping hand to all those in need by simply spending 45 minutes of your time.

We would like to encourage you to click on this link http://www.hsa.gov.sg/html/consumer/ctm_do_you_know.html to widen your knowledge about blood donation.

So do come down to: Student Activities Centre (SAC), from 15th – 18th January, 11 00 - 1700
We have set up an Express Queue for those who are interested in shortening your waiting time, we encourage you to book your donating slot at the website. You may register and check out more details at http://clubs.ntu.edu.sg/redcross/

For donors below age of 18, please print the form from the website given http://www.hsa.gov.sg/docs/parentconsentfinal.pdf

Please be reminded that Singaporeans are to bring their IC or donation card, and foreigners to bring their passports.

All are welcome and do encourage your friends to come along!!! Thanks a lot for your support! We look forward to seeing you during the blood challenge!

Red Cross Humanitarian Network (NTU Chapter)

Steven says: Come to think of it, i have never donated blood. Maybe i should make this my first donation.

Student Special [One]

Me, Xy, Kev and Wil went to the Sakae Sushi @ Frontier CC. This was my first time stepping into the building after it was completed a year or two back. To me, it is just another integrated building that combines retail shops with library with CC with a polyclinic. Convenient it is but it is just so uninteresting.

Ok, back to Sakae. The branch at Frontier CC is pretty small, not very cosy; but hey, isn't new HDB like that as well? Small and squeezy like a pigeon hole. Anyway, it was the food and friends that made the meal a great one. It had been some times since i went to Sakae for the buffet... when was the last time... hmmm... i think it was with Grace, CM and Denis. Very long ago... I still remembered somebody brought a plastic bag to hid the rice.



The verdict: the food was decent and because there weren't many people, they were served very fast. And because it is at a student price, so i would say it is worth it!! But this student is not offered to SIM students. Strange hah... On the poster, it states that the offer is only for those aged between 13-21; we were no where near this figures but students from NTU and NUS are an exception. But why are SIM students excluded?

New way of marketing? Seriously, how many students between the age of 13-21 can afford a meal @ Sakae? Is that the reason why students from NTU and NUS are an exception?

Strange but in a few months time, i won't be able to leverage on this offer anymore. Haiz...

Goodbye MC King

The 40-year-old comedian died on Friday after complaining of breathing difficulties.

Was it stress?

Work?

Overweight?

It doesn't matter.

Now that he is gone, it really doesn't matter.

MC King was never the main lead in any programs. He played more of a supporting role and he really did a good job. But i was never a fan of his.

I remembered there was a time, i was radio-channel surfing. His voice happened to appear over station FM LOVE972. He was sharing his experience over something and he chatted with callers and there was chemistry between him and Yongmei (972 deejay). I was glued to the station for that morning.

It was reported that many people turned up for his funeral. Raymond Tan, Henry Chia, Thomas Ong, Wang Libing, Wang Yuxiang... Other than the "stars" who went, there were many more who were there to see the "stars". Some even asked the "stars" for autograph. Gosh... what were they thinking?

Just before the body was to be cremated, he was given a minute of applause. Something which would have been more meaningful if done when he was alive. Why is it that he is only given recognition after his death? Why ar?

May you rest in peace, MC King.

New Last Sem in NTU

Oh no... it is the beginning of my final sem in NTU.

How time files...

Anyway, i promise myself that i will appreciate and value this final sem!!

First of all, for the last time, i have to settle my timetable. This is what everybody has to do when school starts. The add-drop period is crucial since we cannot alter the schedule anymore after this period.

Then, i have to see my fyp tutor, do my fyp...

Next, i will have to remember to sign up for the Re'kre-at NTU Programme. I want to sign up for the Beach Volleyball; it sounds cool and feels good and i think i need to brush up my skills too. Then, i can head straight for Sentosa again (I have to renew my membership... but i think is pretty worth it...)

Joining a dragonboat team is always something that i wanted to do and gosh, i have done so. PLK dragonboat team is the one that i've joined and i think it will be a superior team in the near future!!

Last but not least, i have to settle the Work & Travel USA thing by end of this month. The interview is on 26th Jan 2008. Hopefully it will proceed smoothly and we can all go to USA - to do "household chores".

Ok, i can predict that this sem will be exciting and i will be so looking forward to it.

Results are out and gosh...

Results were out at midnight and boy oh boy oh boy... no matter how i clicked, i just couldn't logged in to see mine.

And that's why here i am, awake at this timing, checking my results.

Hmmmm, i would say my results are slightly better than last semester and i am happy with it.

This is my second last examination results and while i am going to look forward to the final one, i will be missing those that i had cleared.

The cold exam halls, the weird invigilators, the stressful question papers, my trustworthy windbreaker, my lifesaving water bottle, the oh-yeah-exam-is-over feeling...

And so on...

Society Uni, please don't rush me while i enjoy this remaining semester. Thanks!

In love with the Chipmunks...

Gosh, caught the show on Xmas Eve.

It was good loh - funny and heartwarming....

Here are some of the songs featured in the movie, Enjoy ~ ~

Bad Day-Alvin & The Chipmunks



The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)-Alvin & Chipmunk


Only You (And You Alone)-Alvin & The Chipmunks


Mess Around-Alvin & The Chipmunks


Ain't No Party-Alvin & the Chipmunks/Chris Classic/Rebecca J


Get Munk'd-Alvin & The Chipminks/Al D


How We Roll-Alvin & The Chipmunks

In love with Doughnuts ~ ~ ~

This might be kind of slow but I'm in love with doughnuts ~~~

It has been some times since the Donut Factory @ Raffles City Shopping Mall started a stir in Singapore. People had queued for hours before they can get their hands on the yummy doughnuts. My sis was one of those who went and queued and brought back the doughnuts for me to try. Indeed, it was really really nice.


Krispy Kreme doughnuts from HK.

Then, with the emergence of more doughnuts stores in Singapore, there is no way you can walk around not seeing the little yummy ones. My sis's friend gave her a box of Krispy Kreme from HK and boy it was good. But i personally find it too sweet to my liking.

Here's an interesting "How Krispy Kremes Work"

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.

It was my third marathon. Well, training was progressing smoothly initially until i was down with flu. Then, when i recovered, Hanxiang injured his leg and decided not to run. With my marathon-training buddy down, i got lazy and train less and less.

I even got negative and thought of not running this year. But considering that i had paid $45, i might as well go for it. (yes i know... kind of cheapo right...)

Then i arranged with Zhengwei to run together so that we can pace one another. This further discouraged me from not running. And so, i slept early on Saturday night and woke up at 3.30am on Sunday morning.

By 4am, i was on my way to the Padang. I got into a taxi and the uncle surprised me by asking me, “where is the Padang?”

We were on our way after i described the surrounding landmarks. After which, I got a greater shock. The taxi uncle kept rubbing his eyes and there was time when he actually drove in the middle of 2 lanes. It was scary.

Luckily the trip took only 10 minutes; I do hope nothing bad happen to the taxi uncle.

Then i met up with Zw and we were all ready to warm up for the run!

My number tag... Bought 4D but never win...

This year, the organizer set up different start-lines for runners with different expected finished time. So, there were the sub 6hrs, sub 5hrs and so on... This allowed those who aim and can finish fast to be in the front. In a way, it is helpful to some as human congestion always occurred at the start-line.

At 5.30am sharp, we were flagged off and there was no turning back. To and fro Marina Bay was good, with the cool weather and good pacing. As i approached ECP, fatigue begins to hit in and i slowed down. So, i signaled Zw to go ahead without me. I reduced my speed and there were times when i really feel like walking. But i reminded myself that, the run has just started and there is still a long distance to go; i can’t afford to start walking so early. With that thought in mind, i hung on and run and run and run.

ECP is always the killer. It is a long stretch and it never fails to bore runners. Hence, the power gel, which was distributed along ECP, was something to look forward to. It gives the body energy almost instantaneously. However, i still prefer the good, old banana. Haha... It taste and smell better.

There many supporters along the run, and gosh, they are really great. Without these runspirators - this is how the organizer called those who went down to support the runners - the run will definitely be harder to complete. They cheered, they clapped and some gave out banana. They were the ones who pushed each and every runners.

And there were the bands and cheerleaders. They were young and dynamic and their music and cheers motivated me to progress forward. They are good lah...

I was so looking forward to get out of ECP. This is because i will be on my way back to the Padang. This is also the stretch that is a killer. I was tired and have started to walk. Then i jog a bit, then i walk, then i jog, then i walk... This process was repeated many times.

And i actually drank more water from the drinks stations. Last time, i was taught to grab a cup, pinch it and take a sip. I guess i was really tired and that’s why i drank not just one but two cups. And together with the intake of some banana, I got very full in the end; which is good and bad at the same time. Good that i got myself hydrated, bad that i got too full to run properly.

I think this year is my best run out of my three marathons. I got tired at a later time and i get to appreciate the city’s landscape more. Of which, I like the Spore Flyer the most and i just can’t wait for it to start operation next year.

Me and Zw with the finisher medal...

Overall, i enjoyed the run, although i took slightly longer than last year. I felt great and satisfied after the whole run. We are after all, the 1% of the population who woke up early to run. And by finishing it, i can call it an achievement.

If somebody asked me whether i am going to spend $45 again next year to suffer again? My answer would be, “Of course!!”

May the 5 dragonboaters rest in peace.

Actually i don't have the intention to blog about this unfortunate accident.

But Tianhong requested me to put up a piano piece composed by Reuben Kee, one of the victims. And that is what you can hear in the background.

For those who stayed in the well and have no idea what i am talking about, here is the link.

5 young lives, gone just like that.

Sad, sad, sad, sad...

However, this shall be a reminder to all -

appreciate and value your family members and friends as we never know what will happen in the future...

萬千星輝頒獎典禮2007 - 肥姐接受萬千光輝演藝大獎

肥姐 looked so pale even with the thick make-up, haiz...

i like her alot coz she always bring laughter to where ever she goes...

Kind of sad to see her becoming like this...

so weak, so thin...

Arghhh

Exam is in a week's time and i still don't have the momentum to mug.

Tsk tsk... how? how? how??????

Anyway, some people commented that bus service number 179 is never enough to ferry ntu students in and out of campus. Take a look at this...



Who says 179 no enough?

haha... there must have been EIGHT 179 buses coming together wor ~ so "efficient"...

from HRM:

Productivity = Efficiency + Effectiveness = doing the right things and doing things right.

彩虹- 周杰伦(《我很忙》第二波主打/MV)

主唱：周杰倫
作曲：周杰倫
填詞：周杰倫

哪裡有彩虹告訴我
能不能把我的願望還給我
為甚麼天這麼安靜
所有的煙都跑到我這裡

有沒有口罩一個給我
釋懷說了太多就成真不了
也許時間是一種解藥
也是我現在正服下的毒藥

看不見你的笑　我怎麼睡得著
你的身影這麼近我卻抱不到
沒有地球　太陽開始環繞
沒有理由　我也能自己逃

你要離開　我知道更簡單
你說依賴　是我們的阻礙
就算放開　那能不能別沒收我的愛
當作我最後才明白

RAP
看不見你的笑
要我怎麼睡得著
你的身影這麼近我卻抱不到
沒有地球太陽開始環繞環繞
沒有理由我也能自己走掉
是我說了太多就成真不了
也許時間是一種解藥解藥
也是我現在正服下的毒藥

Cancer The Shocking Truth

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumours.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow,gastro-intestinaltract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumour size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumour destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

FLU-ed

I was down with Flu last Thursday. Gosh, it wasn't exactly a good experience; fever, cough, running nose, headache, muscle ache ... the list can just go on like that... and to think i was wondering why i had not fell sick for so long the day before...

Marathon training was affected as i was too weak to run. And i had reminders from my mom that vigorous training would only worsen the problem, the virus might even get into the heart. This was further supported by the doctor from NTU Medical Centre. So i took the advice and allowed myself to be lazy; it isn't that bad really ~

Well, there are things to be done and hopefully i can finish them fast:

1. Integrated Environmental Management Project

2. Integrated Design Project

3. Final Year Project

4. 2nd last time Mugging for exam

5. Work and Travel USA.

Speedwing didn't allocate me a slot for the interview for WAT. I know it was based on first come first served and we only paid our $50 on the last day at the last hour but i think they can do better when it comes to informing the customers (that will be us.) Sending emails at 2230hr on Wednesday and "Demanding" us to reply by 1500hr on Thursday isn't exactly a good method, there wasn't enough time for us to react.

Actually, now i have second thoughts about this thing. Maybe i should just save all this trouble and go off to Vietnam or something.

Work & Travel USA

There was a talk about Work & Travel (WAT) USA last Friday.

With past participants sharing their experiences with us, it really increased my interest in this program. After all, this will be my last and only chance to join this program - it is only open to full time students.

Participants can choose to work in SeaWorld Orlando & Discovery Cove to Yellowstone National Park for a period of 1.5 - 4 months. It will definitely be a great experience. It is such a shame that i didn't go during year 2, otherwise i wouldn't be bothered by it now.

This is because it clash with FYP presentation and Convocation. Unless the dates are favorable to us, otherwise we might really have to miss Convocation.

Headache ar...

Go WAT and miss Convo or Go Convo and miss WAT ?

MM Lee @ NTU

Last Thursday, 4th October 2007, Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, visited NTU for a ministerial forum. It was held in Nanyang Auditorium which could accommodate 1800 people. Not only Singaporeans were interested to hear what MM Lee has to say, people from China, India, Vietnam, etc. were eager too.

I had dinner with Siew Ghim and Wilson before we headed off to deposit our bags at LT2. After which, we walked over to Nanyang Audit and was "surprised" at the long queue extending towards the direction of Canteen A. It was indeed a long queue, kind of like what you will see at Boon Lay bus interchange in the morning where students queued up for bus service 179.

We got into the queue and Huimin joined us soon after. It was a long wait; i guess we were in the queue for about an hour plus before we actually got into Nanyang Audit. The emcee who hosted the event is really a joker; she behaved very elegantly, cat-walked and smiled a lot... but it felt weird, very very weird. Are we not used to people behaving elegantly or did she overdo it? I think is a bit of both.

MM Lee arrived shortly after everyone got seated and gosh he really looked old; well he had just celebrated his 84th birthday not long ago. He gave a long keynote which was a summary of his memoirs which i had read. But it sure feels different with him saying out in person. It makes the events come alive.

The Q&A session was next. There were people who were anxious to ask questions but those who managed to snatch the mike were either china chinese, india indian or Vietnamese. This eventually led to MM Lee calling out to Singaporeans to ask questions. It sure reflect the current situation when CC and II are almost every where in Singapore. Competition here and there and increasing CC and II sure made some locals do feel like 2nd class citizens.

Yes, globalisation is at fault here but isn't there a better way for this to happen? I don't have an answer for this but it is really unavoidable especially with our greying population.

Let's not wait for our multi-million paid ministers to come up with solutions, we should reflect and think hard - what kind of Singapore do we hope to create?